Difference between revisions of "2022-04-21: The Falling Star"
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| − | *'''Log | + | *'''Log: The Falling Star''' |
*'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Liam 7-020]], [[Character :: Zoia Surovy]], [[Character :: Leito Igaguri]], [[Character :: Kaworu Nagisa]], [[Character :: Lucine Azul]], [[Character :: Dr. Spartura]], with NPC work by [[Ouka Nagisa]] | *'''Cast:''' [[Character :: Liam 7-020]], [[Character :: Zoia Surovy]], [[Character :: Leito Igaguri]], [[Character :: Kaworu Nagisa]], [[Character :: Lucine Azul]], [[Character :: Dr. Spartura]], with NPC work by [[Ouka Nagisa]] | ||
*'''Where:''' OCU Japan, past the Area 11 border | *'''Where:''' OCU Japan, past the Area 11 border | ||
Latest revision as of 15:06, 1 May 2022
- Log: The Falling Star
- Cast: Liam 7-020, Zoia Surovy, Leito Igaguri, Kaworu Nagisa, Lucine Azul, Dr. Spartura, with NPC work by Ouka Nagisa
- Where: OCU Japan, past the Area 11 border
- OOC - IC Date: April 21, 2022 (0096)
- Summary: NERV and other allies pick up a massive heat signature that crosses the border from Area 11 into OCU Japan, approaching Tokyo-3. Suspecting an Angel, they investigate--but find something much different instead.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The northern border of Area 11 is unpleasantly tense at the best of times, but tonight, something has caused the situation on the ground to escalate.
At 0015 local time, sensors on both sides of the border reported an anomalous thermal signature, vastly outstripping most conventional arms as well as even the largest fires. It first appeared in one of the outlying slums, an area full of tenements constructed to house--however barely--Britannia's newest subjects. Several smaller signatures appeared on the board at 0018: a quartet of Glasgows, seemingly normal except for their complete lack of IFF beacons... as well as the absence of (publically-acknowledged) Britannian troop deployments. The heat signature flared. One by one, the Glasgow beacons went dark. The heat signature began travelling north, making for Japan.
But what is it? It's a mech, that much is certain. High-resolution cameras captured images of the unknown machine as it flew past a Japanese sensor array at 0035. It's a Gundam of some sort, owing largely to the design of the head--a little more stylized, but still Gundam Fight-legal, V-fin and all. The rest of the machine is built like a brawler, with a bulky, well-armored body, well-articulated limbs, and thruster cowlings built into the back. If it's a Britannian machine, no one in their chain of command has acknowledged it as anything other than a threat, or a false flag, or a ploy by the terrorist Black Knights. If it's a Japanese machine, no one in the OCU chain of command has acknowledged it as anything other than an obvious Britannian threat.
Someone needs to intervene before people start shooting at one another.
It's now 0050 local time, and a storm is blowing in from the Pacific. Rain falls in sheets from the darkened sky. Lightning forks through the clouds overhead. Waves surge and lash against the sand of a deserted stretch of beach. The heat signature glows brilliantly in the infrared, like a magnesium flare in a pitch-black cave. Despite the pouring rain, its temperature approaches five hundred Kelvin--well past the boiling point of water. It's travelling down the beach with all due haste, alternating between quick bursts of movement and a slower, steadier pace.
Visual target acquisition reveals the strange Gundam's current state. A pair of slash wounds cross the armor of its left thigh, their edges ragged and glowing bright red. Bullet holes stitch across the armor of its right torso and arm. As it runs, it favors its right leg, and its gait is eerily fluid in a way AMBAC isn't. Clouds of steam rise from the machine's armor, enveloping it in a halo. It's running so hot that the rain is flash-boiling as it hits it. Vents on its back disgorge 'wings' of white-hot plasma just beneath its jumpjets. Smaller vents spit forth superheated air. It's a miracle that it hasn't gotten hot enough to leave molten sand in its wake.
<Pose Tracker> Zoia Surovy has posed.
Gigantic thermal signatures could be very well anything, from natural causes to horrifying biohorrors from another world. Gigantic thermal signatures that start demolishing little ones around them and proceed into Japan are another story.
By the time evidence emerged that a Gundam was responsible, Evangelion Unit-Z2 was already en route. The brawny Evangelion had been in the midst of an activation test; it put it at peak readiness right when a giant response was needed to something that might very well be an Angel. Now that it's not, there's no turning back - but transporting something the size of an Evangelion is no small feat. An entire Tausendfuessler was seconded to the task. Its entire cargo hold has been converted to hold a massive generator and plugin assembly.
The generator's so big that there's no room for Unit-Z2. The huge pale-blue Eva is riding face-down on a series of brackets on the Tausendfuessler's belly, rockets latched to its shoulder pylons and a rifle slung to its hip. Nestled in the entry plug, Zoia finds herself looking down at the rolling Japanese countryside, battered by rain and storms - and by heat. Zoia presses her lips together and adjusts her glasses before looking up towards the immense heat source. "...It's pretty intense," she murmurs with a glance back.
She's not used to having someone riding along. Privately she's glad it's Kaworu. He's proven to be the most likeable of the people in her age range so far - or at least, the one least likely to either ghost her or harangue her.
She slides her hands across her control grips and leans forward shallowly. "Alright. Here we go," she says, focusing. "I don't... think it's as bad as it could be. It looks like it's taken some hits already."
Latches give way as Unit-Z2 drops to the earth and lands with a loud boom, settling into a crouched stance, The Tausendfuessler drops altitude, unspooling the fuel line. As the transport drops to a bare hover just a couple dozen metres above the earth, Unit-Z2 rises out of its landing pose and begins to shamble forward.
It doesn't go far. It stops just outside of what Zoia's calculated to be the range of a long-barreled beam rifle, and holds both hands up as if to indicate they're empty.
Fiddling with a control on the coffin-shaped system assembly she's handily nested in, Zoia bites her lower lip. "I'll try standard channels," she says with a glance back at Kaworu, before jabbing a couple of controls.
What Unit-Z2 offers up isn't a fight. It's a radio connection. It sweeps several bands as Zoia tries to find a comm line that the incredibly hot Gundam is synched up to. The message that eventually comes through is... conciliatory.
"Unknown Gundam, it looks like you're lost, da? Can we help?"
Zoia sounds like she can't be more than 14 or 15. The voice is coming from an eighty-metre robot bristling with rockets and armour that looks like it eats Gundams for lunch.
<Pose Tracker> Leito Igaguri has posed.
Leito Igaguri was supposed to be enroute to meet up with Lucine for a job. Apparently, he's super late, because he never showed up at the meeting place in Japan.
Meanwhile, there is a massive heat signature travelling down the beach. As the strange Gundam burns forward, venting plasma, something massive drops from the sky in front of it, attempting to force it to stop. No...not something.
Someone.
Ultraman Zero is about fifty meters tall. Red, silver, and blue makes up the palette of his body, with a silver head, yellow eyes, and two horn-like 'sluggers' protruding from his head. A blue mantle is draped around him, with a gem-like timer on his chest as the centerpiece of it.
As he moves, he's crouching in front of the 'Gundam', putting both hands up to try and get it to stop. He's not hostile, but his goal is to try and learn what's going on...as two voices inside discuss the situation.
Leito, Miss Azul will be fine.
"A-are you sure, Zero? We're making a big detour..."
The pilot's clearly being shot at - look at the marks. We can't let them get away, especially without an explanation.
"Alright, if you say so..."
To the others, the Ultraman doesn't talk, even as they arrive. It just continues holding position to try and stop their target from escaping.
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
International politics are not *technically* NERV's business. Its mission statement is to be a global defense organization against non-human threats, with no preference made to any particular nation (despite the lavish amounts of funding they get from Britannia's emperor). An unknown unit that crosses country lines is technically none of NERV's business. However, when they emit a strangely intense heat signature and start approaching the general vicinity of Tokyo-3, the brass start getting nervous. At the very least, it's determined that there's no harm in sending out an Eva to make *sure* this isn't an Angel. If it were one, it'd be too late by the time it made its true nature known.
Of course, Kaworu had known from the start that it wasn't an Angel. He hadn't remarked as much. He's generally free with his thoughts and comments, but even if he's supposed to be an expert on kaiju, he's well aware of how dangerous it would be to make it known he can tell what is and isn't an Angel well before NERV's state-of-the-art equipment can tell. If they're going to worry about the Eighth Angel, they'd be better off turning their attention to the east, into the ocean.
But that's another matter. Kaworu is in Z2's entry plug with Zoia, floating to one side of where she sits in the throne of its soul, one hand gently perched near her shoulder. As a reserve pilot for the Evangelions, it's sensible for him to do testing with the Evangelions outside of the main numerical line, and he'd asked Zoia if she minded he join her in her most recent activation test. So far it's been fine. *Extremely* fine. Dr. Akagi had predicted there'd be some form of interference having two minds in the entry plug at once, but it seems Kaworu's presence is as inoffensive within the Eva as it is without.
But then, he wouldn't be able to be a general-purpose reserve pilot for *any* Evangelion if he weren't like that, would he?
"Agreed. It seems likelier that we'll have trouble with pursuit of that Gundam than the Gundam itself," Kaworu comments. Unit Z2 lurches out of the Tausendfuessler, then raises its hands to indicate peacefulness--for now--to the unknown Gundam. He nods Zoia on with a smile when she says she'll try standard channels.
He doesn't interfere with her message, either. He simply watches and waits patiently for how the unknown responds. This remains the case even when an Ultraman drops down from the stormy sky in front of it, his own hands out to attempt to stop the Gundam from moving any further. If anything, Kaworu's interest only grows.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
The pitter patter of rain on the cockpit shield. The final notes of Satie's Prelude de la porte Heroique du ciel on the Dianthus's interior speakers. Lucine turns her head behind her to check on the briefcase full of paperwork, making sure it's nestled in the back. It's a soft mood for a rainy day. She'll meet upo with Leito, deliver the suitcase to NERV and then, Lucine will be able to return to her greenhouse.
Arriving at the meeting spot not too far away, Lucine waits. "I wonder if he's taking shelter because of the storm... I can wait it out."
Then.
'Can you hear me, my lovely boys and girls?
A miracle's slipped out, and now I've already caught your heart
C'mon, stand up! Fly out in about 5 G's!'
".... O-oh, I hope he doesn't mind some of Sheryl's music..." Lucine considers skipping to the next, just to keep the feeling of quiet, but by then the song has already started in full, and it feels too upbeat to dare switch away from.
The heat signature draws the attention of the Dianthus's sensors, and Lucine lowers the volume, craning her head around to try to get a better look out.
Unit-Z2 drops, and the music is turned even lower.
When Zero manifests, Lucine mutes the music completely. ".... What..." Is this what Leito was referring to, when he mentioned things about kaiju attacks, and how they were handled?
The Dianthus is a few times Lucine's own height, but it's dwarfed in comparison to the others that have manifested.
"... Maybe.... I could..." She switches the radio to the common sorts of channels, trying to listen in while not immediately joining in.
That's when she hears Zoia's voice, trying to communicate with the unknown Gundam. "... That's... Zoia, from NERV..."
She comes on the line.
<"Ah, this is Lucine, piloting the Dianthus Mk. 3. I will be on standby if you need a hand.">
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The roar of the Tausendfuessler's engines is impossible to miss. In the cockpit, a pair of bright blue eyes focus on the long-range sensors, and widen; the heat-shielded cameras in the Gundam's head focus in, revealing the transport and... something, strapped to its belly. Something immense. The Gundam skids to a halt, its body going rigid with tension, its gaze firmly fixed on the incoming aircraft. The thermal aura around it starts to climb. It doesn't look like it has weapons, aside from a pair of cannon apertures on its torso, but there are vents and focusing magnets all over its body. It's hot enough to incinerate flesh just by getting close enough.
Someone else drops from above. The mystery Gundam reacts with blinding speed, going from 'fixed on the transport' to 'stepping into a fighting stance' before Ultraman Zero's feet have hit the ground. Plasma boils around the machine's knuckles. In the cockpit, a pair of blue eyes stare openly at the massive figure. What is that? That's not a Mobile Suit. As the larger machine steps forwards, the strange Gundam sinks back, vents on its sides flaring open. Superheated gas erupts from them with a hiss, boiling seawater and then flash-melting the sand beneath.
The Eva pilot speaks. For a moment, there is radio silence on the Gundam's end.
"Lost," says a voice--middling-deep, but still with a touch of youth to it. There's fear in it, and an odd hollowness beneath that. "...Lost? No. Who are you?" The Gundam's head turns to indicate Ultraman Zero. "What's that?" A third sensor signature appears, and the machine twists to face Dianthus. Its body language is fraught with tension.
In the cockpit, a pair of blue eyes turn to the long-distance sensors. Translucent polymer lenses slip out from beneath their lids. "No. No, you're not taking me back! I won't go back!" Tight, frayed anger fills the young man's voice. But he turns not to those to intercepted him...
And instead, spins on a heel to face the direction he came.
KTS: Ouka_Nagisa has deployed as a Rival. KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3. KTS: Ouka Nagisa's Type 96 Kai has been disabled. KTS: Ouka Nagisa has deployed in Type 96 Kai. KTS: Ouka_Nagisa has deployed as a Boss for 4 opponents. KTS: Dr. Spartura has deployed as a Sub Pilot for Ouka Nagisa!
<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.
The nice thing about large thermal signatures: Regardless of what they are, they're a useful distraction. A quartet of smaller units, and thus smaller heat signatures, have also been following the mysterious gundam as it makes its way toward the deserted stretch of beach. Using a combination of anti-ship cannons and smaller caliber gunfire they have been attempting to force it between a rock and a hard place. They had suspected that the ongoing guerilla firefight and the massive heat signature might draw local forces...
... what they had not expected was to draw an Ultraman and one of those Nerv monsters to show up out of nowhere!
"Dammit!! Do they really expect us to take on those bruisers in a bunch of Arm Slaves?"
"*grunts*"
"Not like we can back out of this now. You signed the contract same as me - we back out now we're dead. Let's just distract them while Blue gets close enough to install the signal interrupt and get the runner running back home."
"Yeah yeah... give me two minutes and we'll be home free. Just don't let one of those big ones spot me, they give methe heebie jeebies."
Three Type-96 Kai units turn on their IFF transponders. They're identifying as local mercenaries - nothing special. Each one is painted particular color: Red, green and yellow. They have their weapons armed and unholstered. The red one, the apparent leader of the group, step forward and broadcasts over a short-range broadband frequency:
"All local units! Thanks for responding to our signal flares. Sorry about the mess we've made rounding up this troublemaker. Some local kid or something was poking around and got into one of the lab's testbed gundams." She laughs, "Happens way too often. Anyway we can take it from here..."
Meanwhile... a blue unit attempts to quietly make an aquatic approach on the UNK-XX Proto Helios. It appears to be carrying some sort of large disc-shaped device equipped with several antennas on the top. It is also, attempting, not to get spotted by any Ultramans, Gundams, or Evangelions...
... though maybe they forgot about the innocent Dianthus flying around?
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
And backing up this unholy quartet -- a voice speaks to them all, distorted by the necessity of covert tight-beam signalling.
"Oh, stop yelling so much. It's enormous, but you're enormous too, aren't you? You can all be enormous together."
A clink of something, a sip --
VISUAL CUTAWAY: A dark control pod somewhere in what is surely, given the cramped environs and mutiplicity of screens, a stealthy supervision space. Perhaps something in a covert facility, or a mobile transport... it's hard to say. Seated in a comfortable chair, wearing purple silk pajamas, is a professional.
Dr. Dorothy Spartura has a sleep mask on, but resting on her forehead; she has a glass with thick rocks of ice in it; she has an open leather satchel (or large purse?) next to her. She rubs her scarred-up eye with one hand and yawns silently.
"Wow," she says, as she finally gets a good look of what's out there.
"This is really great luck, I mean, all things considered," she continues. "So I know you're all pros but I'm going to just say it - hearing ME is pretty secure, but if you want to call for anything *specific* you're going to have to kind of work it into your conversation. I'll be giving you advanced warning if I hear anything, and -" clicketyclicktichtype "I'll pull up some stuff along the way, though I'm going to be honest that..."
"Well, let's say we're all going to learn a lot today," Dr. Spartura concludes. "Do your best, guys! I'm rooting for you!"
She gazes at the particular screen showing the Proto Helios in clearest relief, and smiles, faintly, to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
It's them. He shouldn't have slowed. He shouldn't have stopped. It wasn't real pain, in his real body, just nociception feedback from the Mobile Trace. Now they've caught him, and he feels his throat constricting as they open a channel and start explaining--
And the mystery pilot lets out a pained, strangled choking noise that might be a laugh if the only cause one had to laugh was the world's injustice. The Gundam slips into a boxing stance, raising both fists and spreading its feet. That tension is back in its movements, if it ever truly left. He can't get the others hurt. No one else should suffer because of what he's done.
Sweat drips down a brow marked with surgical scars. Wetness wells up behind the polymer shields protecting bright blue eyes.
"No," says the young man, and the hollowness speaks volumes. "I'm not going back. I WON'T GO BACK!" His voice cracks, and then hovers somewhere between numb and monotone. "Subject seven-dash-zero-two-zero, engaging pursuers." The Gundam's jets ignite behind it, tracing a trail of steam as it roars through the rain. Its right hand tightens, and then lashes out in a wild haymaker at the red ARM Slave--all thoughts of technique leaving the pilot's brain as years of training and indoctrination fight with emotions he can barely process.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with Basic Strike! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to evade Liam 7-020's Basic Strike, taking 3180 damage! KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Ouka Nagisa KTS: Zoia Surovy has activated the Strike Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Zoia Surovy has posed.
Not only is one of them an inoffensive presence, but Zoia has a remarkably stable synchronization rate. Unit-Z2 just doesn't seem to be in the mood to complain, whether about Zoia's driving or Kaworu riding along.
Zoia's not complaining either, and she covers her comm pickup with a glance back at Kaworu. "I noticed that too. It does look like something's been attacking it. It may be that the Union Forces tried to shoot first and ask questions later, but I get the idea it may be more complicated."
The good news for the mysterious Gundam pilot is that Unit-Z2 does not seem to be in a hurry to either step on it or fire those gigantic rockets. The Evangelion keeps its hands held out, palms-forward.
Zoia presses her lips together as the voice comes through - hollow and uncertain. She looks over to Kaworu quickly, then back to the mystery machine. "My name is Zoia Surovy of the Federation NERV task force. We aren't here to hurt you. You look like you need help--"
The Gundam turns, frantically. Zoia's eyebrows shoot upwards, and she again covers her pickup and hunches forward. "What's he talking about," she murmurs.
Apparently what he is talking about is three Arm Slaves. Zoia blinks at the red, green and yellow machines, shifting Unit-Z2 to bring the trio into the Katyusha rockets' field of fire - but not actually shooting. She furrows her brows, still covering her pickup. "This feels off," she observes to Kaworu.
Then her eyes brighten. "Ooh, can I do the this-isn't-your-jurisdiction thing? Like the FSB agents in cop movies?"
She doesn't wait for a response before switching her comms back on. "Thanks for your trouble, but this is now an official NERV investigation and under our jurisdi--"
Liam decides he does not want to let Zoia be the FSB today. Zoia opens her mouth slightly, then snaps it closed, exhaling through her nose. "That is a problem," she sighs as the strange Gundam lashes out.
She squares her jaw, then bunches her shoulders. "I'm going to try not to kill them, just disable!" she calls before pushing Unit-Z2 forward. The gigantic Evangelion goes trundling in. Rockets are NOT fired; Liam's machine is too close for that.
The Arm Slaves are puny. Eva-Z2 is not. Zoia winds up and attempts to just punt one of the Arm Slaves over the horizon.
KTS: Zoia Surovy targets Ouka Nagisa with Giant Beatdown! KTS: Ouka Nagisa rushes into the attack! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Zoia Surovy's Giant Beatdown, taking 3870 damage! KTS: Zoia Surovy has engaged Ouka Nagisa
<Pose Tracker> Leito Igaguri has posed.
Colorful machines approach, as the Gundam tries to turn back. Something feels wrong. Their words don't feel honest.
Leito, you believe me now about this? This guy needs our help.
"R-right! Let's get rid of his pursuers, drive them back...that's NERV, right? They can help him...
And looks like the Dianthus is here, too. Miss Azul must have gotten tired of waiting for us, huh?
Ultraman Zero suddenly bursts forward from the crouch, making a slash kick that moves to impact the Arm Slaves - with his size, it's probably oppressive, forcing him into range of them but encouraging them to try to evade direct impact instead of jockey with him! He spins as he does so, landing back in a crouch before standing upright.
KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Leito Igaguri targets Ouka Nagisa with Ultra Zero Kick! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to evade Leito Igaguri's Ultra Zero Kick, taking 3300 damage! KTS: Leito Igaguri has engaged Ouka Nagisa <Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Something of this temperature can't have a pilot. It'd be impossible, unless there's something to protect the pilot from such heat.
So when a voice comes on the radio, Lucine briefly assumes it to be coming from one of the two units that have gathered to protect(?) the areas beyond. However, when it turns its head to look to each of them, Lucine realizes that _there is a pilot inside_.
So which one is Zoia?
"Mr. Igaguri... I hope he's somewhere safe from all this..." Either way, Lucine should assume he's hiding somewhere nearby. Which means she shouldn't let that Gundam get near this spot.
<"If you get any closer--"> Oh, well, now the Gundam is running away, so that solves that. Sort of.
It's still a pilot in a unit that is scared, piloting a machine that could kill people by simply getting too close.
Lifting up into the air, the Dianthus tries to get a better vantage point as conversations occur, and... is that a fourth unit, approaching from the ocean? Lucine confirms it on her radar, and tries to contact Zoia's unit directly, which... takes some guessing. Maybe, with a bit of luck, and a wishful thought towards her Newtype abilities...
<"Ms. Surovy, something's trying to sneak up from the water. I'm going to intervene and make a fuss.">
This could be going out to dead air. Or worse, the pursuers may be listening, who may or may not be who they say they are. Lucine can't even count on the other anonymous guardian being on their side. As it is, Zoia is the only person she knows in this entire skirmish, and not all that well.
Lucine is here to assist NERV, in a way, right? The suitcase rattles in the back as she artfully maneuvers her unit around, hovering high over where the blue Arm Slave is...
".... Time for one of dad's tricks..."
Gripping its body around the glaive, the Dianthus's propellers cut off, and it falls, with controlled bursts of exhaust to keep the dive from going completely out of control. If successful, it'll pin its glaive straight into the water and spear the blue unit.
If it fails, it will be very awkward, but the commotion should alert the others.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with CL0-V3 Glaive Ram! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to evade Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Ram, taking 3150 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Ouka Nagisa
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"It feels like someone's secret project," Kaworu remarks to Zoia, nodding his agreement with her assessment. He lets her address the strange Gundam's pilot, and although he doesn't return Zoia's glance, his expression has turned thoughtful. As Liam's agitation grows, Kaworu watches--first him, and then the four units that are in pursuit of him, his chin tilting up slightly as he adjusts his gaze.
Who is he talking about? Zoia wonders.
"Them," Kaworu says simply.
He does look at Zoia, at least, when she asks if she can do a movie line. When she doesn't actually wait for his response, he breaks into a quiet chuckle. It grows as one of the Arm Slave pilots sends out a general transmission and attempts to laugh the whole matter off. Kaworu laughs with her congenially. Generally speaking, he takes people at face value--he does it reflexively--but: "If you're going to lie, you should make it more believable." ...This is clearly no flare, and no normal child could survive that heat signature.
Liam lashes out. Zoia chooses to engage, stating that she'll try to avoid taking any lives. "Good. Proceed," he says, nodding her on.
He considers Lucine's transmission, and the fourth Arm Slave that's attempting a stealthy approach. (It *would* be stealthy, if they weren't dealing with someone like Kaworu on the battlefield.) Fortunately, Lucine notices them herself, so he doesn't need to say a thing. "Thank you, Ms. Azul. We'll handle matters here along with the Ultraman," he transmits back.
Even if he couldn't make a reasonable guess as to the situation, the fact that the Ultraman moves to assist the stray Gundam speaks volumes as to what's going on. He considers hailing the pilot of the Gundam, but... he'll wait a little longer. Actions speak louder than words, after all.
For the time being, he silently encourages Z2's defensive instincts, increasing its already considerable armor--for a moment or two, at least.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa targets Ouka Nagisa with Pass!
<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.
So that was the shortest lived attempt by a bunch of mercenaries to bullshit their way out of a situation...
The first victim is Red, who was attempting the negotiating. She has just enough time to see the Proto Helios barreling toward her and attempt an evasive maneuver before the Gundam's wild haymaker catches her Kai in the chest!! The impact rattles her Arm Slave and sends it sprawling backwards into the beach with a spray of sand.
"*grunt!*" arises from the Green Kai as it sees its leader get sent sprawling into the dirt, and then sees Eva-Z2 approaching. The Eva's pilot is clearly excited by this situation, attempting to declare that this isn't their jurisdiction. Regardless or not though the Green Kai only offers an agitated "*grunt*" in protest before rushing forward to intercept the punt!!
It's not very effective... though at least by rushing into the kick it manages to avoi getting kicked over the horizon and instead is just sent crashing through several sand dunes on the deserted beach before coming to a rest.
"Oh fuck this!" declares the Yellow one, now seeing the Ultraman riding in to take. It doesn't take too much to encourage this brave soul to try to evade. Evade, and maybe run off and over the horizon the Eva was trying to kick Green toward just a little bit ago. Unfortunately the slashing kick catches the unit in the back and sends it sprawling face first into the surf.
"Dammit! I was never good at this talking it out shit anyway. All units, covering fire!" Just then all three units, roused by their commander's directive, stand up and start firing non-stop at their respective foes with their 35mm Rifle. "Yeah we're big but it'd be nice to be bigger against these monsters. If only someone could maybe pump up our damage or at least upload a systems UI patch. You know. SOMETHING before we end up greasy smears, right?!" In reply there is a "*grunt*"
"Or for the love of, I wasn't talking to you!!"
Meanwhile the Blue unit was attempting to complete its mission with the distractions afforded it. Unfortunately instead Lucine dive bombs out of the sky with its glaive!! The end result is that the unit is nearly impaled into the water, the antenna device is sent spinning out of its hands into the water. "Shit!! I lost it! And I'm taking on water, I got to get to shore!" The pilot exclaims before trudging toward the edge of the water as fast as it can - sea water spilling from the large slash wound along its right arm and torso. It then turns to face Lucine and tries, while the unitis still recovering from its dive, to 76mm shoulder cannon round straight at it!!
KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Liam 7-020, Zoia Surovy, and Leito Igaguri with KDE 35mm Rifle Barrage. KTS: Zoia Surovy blocks Ouka Nagisa's KDE 35mm Rifle Barrage, taking 5140 damage! KTS: Leito Igaguri's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Leito Igaguri blocks Ouka Nagisa's KDE 35mm Rifle Barrage, taking 1470 damage! KTS: Zoia Surovy has activated the Dash Spirit Command and has disengaged. KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Lucine Azul with ASG99K 76mm Cannon Shot! KTS: Liam 7-020 blocks Ouka Nagisa's KDE 35mm Rifle Barrage, taking 5580 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul fails to evade Ouka Nagisa's ASG99K 76mm Cannon Shot, taking 4600 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
A grin splits Dr. Spartura's face in her dark technological pit; for a moment, all the little aches and pains she feels on a daily basis, between age and scars, fade away; in that hot electric thrill of--
Anyway, the Gundam is attacking one of the ARM Slaves. "So I want to review for you guys that this guy has a lot of plasma weaponry, which is going to mean you definitely do not want to engage with him from short range if you possibly can," says Dr. Spartura.
She reaches into her purse and rummages for something as she sets her glass to the side. At this point she sees something huge move through a monitor - "YEAH DON'T LET IT DO THAT"
Sadly, the enemy(?) gets a vote. Dr. Spartura lets out a deep sigh.
Mr. Red speaks up at some length and by the time he finishes the good doctor has finished her beverage and lit a cigarette in a repurposed Zaku-red holder which was, indeed, made out of authentic recycled Zaku plating and which was sent out by some politician in Zum City who was trying to win the Ground Forces vote with all sorts of other things.
"Hm... Well," Dr. Spartura says, as she taps her lip with a piece of copper-jacketed metal, "*WELL*..."
"Sorry, Jack, I'm a surgeon, not a programmer," she concludes. "Though I suppose given all the work I do with cybernetics... Ueehhahahahahaaaahh---"
"Right, yeah, you guys are being shot at. SO," Dr. Spartura says, "just looking at this here I'm gonna tell you that you guys probably want to take advantage of your relative size rather than scream and try to do like solo engagements against these guys who are bigger than you, is that even a mech? No, that's a -- what are they again, an Ultraman? See if you can get them talking about their machines and I'll pull stuff out of the database."
Dr. Spartura crosses one leg over the other. "Wouldn't it be interesting if you found out what one of the plasma waves our quarry can do if he applies himself, does when it hits, sayyyy that Ultraman or that nice little robin's egg blue machine? Run through their legs! Use their size against them! Hustle, my little mice!"
<Pose Tracker> Zoia Surovy has posed.
'Something's trying to sneak up from the water'
"--Ah? Lucine?" Zoia gasps. Unit-Z2 perks up slightly as Zoia speaks. That is probably the one she's in. "Something's in the water? Thank you for spotting it!"
When Kaworu urges her on, Zoia presses her lips together and hunches her shoulders, the moment of surprise at Lucine giving way to the realization that she is basically the command unit. She's big, she has Kaworu on board and Lucine seems to recognize her more than their neighbourhood friendly Ultraman - and now she has moving pieces in front of us. "They're trying to pin us," she mutters. "If Lucine can keep the water one busy, maybe we can break out of check...."
Unit-Z2 is gigantic compared to the Arm Slaves. This has both advantages and issues. The main entry in the 'issues' category is that it is a massive and slow target even relative to other Evangelions. The huge machine turns to come to bear on the Green Kai, but rotates into a barrage of gunfire. Bullets pelt the blue Eva, punching into the heavy armour covering its chest and waist.
Zoia yelps and cringes back in her seat, stung by the shots and covering herself instinctively. Unit-Z2 recoils and staggers backwards, dropping to a knee. Purplish liquid - please, God, let it be coolant - oozes from numerous bee sting-like pockmarks along one side of its breastplate and down along where the ribs would be. Zoia slides a hand down her own ribs as if to check if she's been shot for real.
It hurts enough that she was convinced for a second. She exhales and clicks her teeth together before straightening up, tense. "...Alright," she murmurs.
Unit-Z2 drops into a hunched crouch, planting both hands on the turf with knees splayed and heels close together. The pose is peculiarly animalistic. But it doesn't pounce, merely holding court while Zoia plays through chess moves in her head, She taps her comm pickup, connecting Lucine, the Ultraman and Liam onto one line.
"Mr. Gundam," she calls out crisply, "we're not going to let them take you! They tried to trick us and that's not good. Everyone - keep them from getting close if you can. Try to force them back together. Don't let them split up our firepower. If we can maneuver them into attacking from roughly the same direction...!"
KTS: Zoia Surovy targets Liam 7-020, Lucine Azul, and Leito Igaguri with All-Out. KTS: Zoia Surovy orders an all-out attack, raising Leito Igaguri's Skill! KTS: Zoia Surovy orders an all-out attack, raising Lucine Azul's Skill! KTS: Zoia Surovy: Will Barrier Activates. KTS: Zoia Surovy orders an all-out attack, raising Liam 7-020's Skill! <Pose Tracker> Leito Igaguri has posed.
The Arm Slaves respond with their rifle, barraging Ultraman Zero, who lifts both arms and forms a small purple barrier, deflecting some of that incoming damage. Sparks fly as he moves forward, step by step. Suddenly, his hands move for the sluggers on his head.
Normally, an Ultraman shouldn't be comms-accessible. As soon as the ping goes out, this one speaks among the line. The voice is alien, but speaking everyone's tongue - he warbles a little in that deep voice of his, which isn't recognizable as either human or local. It's important to note - he isn't using a radio either. He's just intruding the line.
"I am Zero. Ultraman Zero! There is strength in numbers."
He removes the sluggers, and moves to strike downwards with them as if they were blades, before crouching again to batter forward with them at the limbs. He's trying not to kill these guys despite the large size difference!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Leito Igaguri targets Ouka Nagisa with Zero Slugger Attack! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Kaworu Nagisa's Pass, taking 0 damage! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 70. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to retreat. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Leito Igaguri's Zero Slugger Attack, taking 2960 damage! KTS: Leito Igaguri has engaged Ouka Nagisa KTS: Leito Igaguri begins a Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The downside to charging into melee is that you're at point-blank for any return fire. As the ARM Slave goes flying from the strike, the mystery Gundam stays on top of it, raising its right foot for a violent stomp. Thankfully(?), Red is able to right her machine before the larger Mobile Fighter(?) can stave her cockpit in, regain control of her forces, and return fire. Some of the bullets--the ones aimed deeper into the aura of blistering heat--melt in mid-flight, striking as gobbets of molten metal rather than solid projectiles. But as Red keeps firing, the Gundam jerks back, presses its right hand to the fresh bullet holes in its chest. The armor deforms, ever-so-slightly, beneath the heat wreathing its fingers. High-test enamel burns to ash. The Gundam's hand jerks away.
Blue eyes widen, and focus on the readouts. The reactor's edging slowly towards optimal, but it's not happening fast enough. It's all his fault. He should know, by now, that this isn't real pain, and it isn't him being hurt, and if they take him back they'll just hurt him worse, and maybe hurt the others, and--
'Mr. Gundam,we're not going to let them take you!'
For an instant, the Gundam's gaze locks on Unit Z2. It could easily crush him. It's... bleeding. Coolant? But the voice coming from it goes straight back to his memories and stays there, and his heart tightens with the same emotion that set him on this frantic flight. "Subject seven-dash-zero-two-zero acknowledges," the pilot says. The radio's already isolated the tightband, though when he returns transmission, there's static in it. The heat shielding must be malfunctioning again. "Moving to corral the enemy."
Plasma vents from a port just behind the mystery Gundam's wrist. It flows around the knuckles, and in the cockpit, a hand tightens around the grip of an invisible knife. Magnetic fields shape the raw star-stuff into a keen edge, forming a tight magnetic bottle around the 'grip'. The enamel on the Gundam's fingers blisters and chars. The machine flips the weapon into a reverse grip and stabs downward at Red's machine, trying to open up the joint between torso and arm. There's terrifying speed behind it, and surgical precision--a far cry from the wild blow the pilot threw to open this.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with SUNBURST - Starshard Knife! KTS: Ouka Nagisa rushes into the attack! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Liam 7-020's SUNBURST - Starshard Knife, taking 4060 damage! KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Ouka Nagisa KTS: Liam 7-020 completes the Formation attack! <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Little ruffles Kaworu, and the battle against the Arm Slaves so far is no exception. Even as they mount a counteroffensive by unleashing all the firepower they've got, he doesn't so much as blink as he watches with his usual crooked smile. He does, however, turns a concerned look at Zoia when *she* recoils from the shared pain, gingerly stroking her side as if expecting to find bullet wounds there too.
"That's right; you're still relatively new to piloting the Evangelion, aren't you?" he says sympathetically. "Little injuries like this can be startling, but it's best not to pay them too much mind. They'll simply distract you from the fight."
...Being simul-synchronized with Zoia and Unit Z2, he *should* be able to feel it too, right? Maybe it doesn't hit as hard if you're not in the driver's seat, so to speak.
Beyond that, though, Kaworu doesn't offer advice, either on offense or defense. He seems quite content to let Zoia handle matters--and she does seem to have them well in hand so far. Instead, he looks to the Ultraman as he returns the communication, but not by comms--not exactly, anyway. "Ultraman Zero... It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance at last," he says warmly.
The Gundam pilot acknowledges Zoia's direction, and Kaworu considers what he calls himself once more. He can't help but be sympathetic. At least he received a proper name. "Subject seven-dash-zero-two-zero is a bit of a mouthful," he observes gently. "Do you have another name you'd prefer to be called?"
Then he looks up towards the shore where the blue unit and the Dianthus are emerging from the stormy waters. The former takes advantage of the latter's recoil from her dive to turn a blow against her. "Are you going to be all right, Ms. Azul?" he calls her way. "Though it looks to me as though you are. Even after that attack, your opponent seems to be in a worse position than you are."
Usage: +spirit <command> [on target]
KTS: You have commands: | Enable: 25 SP: Give someone (yourself or someone else) 30 to Skill for one round. | Prospect: 50 SP: Give someone else 40 SP. | Resupply: 25 SP: Restores 8 EN to someone (yourself or someone else). | Rouse: 40 SP: Give someone (yourself or someone else) 10 Morale. | Spirit: 25 SP: Increases your own Morale by 10. | Trust: 20 SP: Give someone (yourself or someone else) 30 to Armor for one round. | Spirit: 56/100
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has activated the Enable Spirit Command targeting Lucine Azul Can't find target. Can't find target. I don't understand that. Try this instead: +map zoia, liam, leito on 3 No matching attacks.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa targets Zoia Surovy, Liam 7-020, and Leito Igaguri with Awe. KTS: Kaworu Nagisa inspires awe, increasing Leito Igaguri's Morale! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa inspires awe, increasing Zoia Surovy's Morale! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa inspires awe, increasing Liam 7-020's Morale! KTS: EN Regen activates. Your new EN value is 78.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
<"Mr. Nagisa? So you're here too...."> A quick glance at the radar doesn't reveal which unit exactly is Kaworu, so she takes a guess. "<I take it you and Miss Survoy are in the same unit?>"
'We'll handle matters here along with the Ultraman.'
<"Ah, I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but.... which one... is Ultraman?">
....
Thankfully, Lucine notices Zoia's movements match Unit-Z2's 'body language'.. Impressive! <"Ah, wait, I think I get it. You must be in the blue one.">
Hearing the deep alien voice join in, Lucine smiles down at her dashboard. <"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Zero. I'm Lucine Azul, from the Nadesico. I'm relieved you're on our side. Or, I suppose, that we are on yours?>"
-----
Grunting, Lucine tenses her facial muscles as she falls through open air. Breathe, prepare for the impact. Adjust descent by 3%, adjust it so that the shock isn't too hard--
........ oh, wait, _this isn't Mars_.
The impact throws the briefcase from its binding and over against Lucine's head, hitting the skip button. Bach comes next, but the volume has been set too loud, setting the teal-haired pilot up for the troublesome task of keeping the Dianthus from sinking into the water, overcoming her vertigo, getting on the defensive, and handling the music department.
<".... Sorry... i forgot.... that this is Earth..."> The comm line is thankfully cut off before the upbeat music and pilot's misery overwhelm the line in their short intrusion.
It also cuts out just before the raptaptap of the Blue unit's 76mm shoulder cannon as well.
"<Gh...>" Lucine has at least managed to get in the air, and breathes. She releases a trail of bright orbs to keep the Blue unit from attacking her immediately, if not outright explode as they drift on him.
"<I'll feel better once I pay them back,>" she answers Kaworu, if just to let him know she's alright. "<The pilot... did he say his name? And that he's okay?>"
It was obscured by the Bach, though she did hear him respond, at least.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies! KTS: Ouka Nagisa retreats from the attack! KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to evade Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Fireflies, taking 4000 damage! KTS: Lucine Azul begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.
"So... let me get this straight. You dropped the mission critical device. You know the one thing that can keep us from being scraped like gum from the bottom of an Ultraman's shoe, in the GOD DAMN SEA OF JAPAN!"
"I heard that they prefer East Sea in South Korea."
"NOT Helpful, Blue!"
"You know what else isn't helpful? Having half the East Sea flooding your internal components!"
"*grunt*
"Damn Green, savage!!"
Red sighs. Not just from the useless argument over the radio, but the useless 'help' coming from the command ship. She then sees out of the corner of her eye the Proto Helios. Unfortunately she's not in position to run between the legs of an Evangelion or an Ultraman, not like she really wants to... but she grimaces. "OK, FINE!" comes a roar of defiance, "Kai Special Dive B---"
Whatever the rest of that was supposed to be is cut short with a knife of pure plasma slices into her machine leaving an angry, WHITE HOT line of jagged molten metal across the unit's chest plate. As she staggers back she can even see, feel the inside of her cockpit glowing with the heat. Bringing up its 35mm it attempts to maneuver while firing, running to the side while firing! "Listen. If you want us bringing this thing back in less than a dozenpieces you better figure something out that's actually helpful for a change!! You paid us to fight for you, not to die for you!"
Yeah Red, you show that mad scientist who is boss.
"Y-yeah!!" The pilot of the yellow machine pipes up just before the Ultraman comes at it with sluggers. Once again it (bravely?) tries to evade the assault. Once again it failyto react and is slammed backwards by the restrained violence of the larger machine's attack! "D-damn it, get away from me you monster!!" He cries out before planting both feet to the ground and bringing forward the 76mm Cannon, attempting to fire a shot right at the Ultraman's face!!
"*grunt*" responds the ever verbose Green, being fortunate enough to have avoided being attacked this round. Instead he takes up a back to back formation with Yellow and plants his unit's own feet hard into the ground. He lowers the 76mm Cannon and attempts to aim it directly at Unit-Z2's head!
Blue's unit is still draining sea water. Fortunately though they managed to get most of it out before their Kai started suffering internal shorts. Nasty thing to be cooked by your own unit due to a salt-water leak, after all! Unfortunately they fare worse against the volley of blue orbs. Several orbs catch them as they try to retreat until finally they turn around, "Alright let's see how you like this!!" unholstering the 35mm Rifle to fire a spread of shots at the Dianthus!
KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Liam 7-020 with KDE 35mm Rifle Maneuver Shot! KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Zoia Surovy with ASG99K 76mm Cannon Perfect Shot! KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Leito Igaguri with ASG99K 76mm Cannon Perfect Shot! KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa targets Lucine Azul with KDE 35mm Rifle Suppressing Fire! KTS: Zoia Surovy has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Zoia Surovy's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Zoia Surovy blocks Ouka Nagisa's ASG99K 76mm Cannon Perfect Shot, taking 3840 damage! KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Liam 7-020 KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Trust Spirit Command targeting Lucine Azul KTS: Leito Igaguri's Will Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Leito Igaguri blocks Ouka Nagisa's ASG99K 76mm Cannon Perfect Shot, taking 2070 damage! KTS: Ouka Nagisa roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Liam 7-020 blocks Ouka Nagisa's KDE 35mm Rifle Maneuver Shot, taking 3975 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
"Y'know," Dr. Spartura says as the tinny second-hand communication signals come in through her, "'Zero' is an interesting concept of a number. It's not really a number at all, it's more of a representation of absence, the creation of a defined space. It's not an intuitive concept at all. The ancient Romans... They ruled over most of the AEU's current territory, and they had like, one Mobile Armor at best at Rhodes, right?"
She takes a long draw on the cigarette holder. "And even so," she sighs. "Gorgeous! Beautiful. Anyway, yeah, so it's funny he mentions numbers. Who's he - they? I'm assuming - talking to?"
"I want to promise you something," Dr. Spartura says. "It's not much, and I'm a representative myself right now, but if you are hurt - really hurt - by any of this, I promise that I'll help you get back on your feet. AlrighT? Pinky promise. I suppose you can't see it. Voice only."
Another of those little giggle-cackles, a faint cough, and then a pause as her lips purse.
A pause. Thought.
"If you can manage it," Dr. Spartura says, "Destroy the Proto Helios. That's your big order. You're professionals," she says. "I trust you."
"And remember," Dr. Spartura concludes as she leans forwards in her seat, "if any of them really hurt you... I'll take care of you."
Her eyes are on the screen showing the Proto Helios. To herself, she muses - too quiet for the mic to pick it up - "Already falling in with them... are you just leveraging your programming? For all I know this is a giant deniable delivery... but maybe you're looking in the right direction, aren't you?"
KTS: Lucine Azul fails to evade Ouka Nagisa's KDE 35mm Rifle Suppressing Fire, taking 4009 damage! KTS: Zoia Surovy has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Zoia Surovy has activated the Valor Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Zoia Surovy has posed.
"There was not a lot of time for live fire testing in Zaftra," Zoia admits with a wan smile for Kaworu. "I'll be alright."
As Lucine radios, Zoia straightens a bit in her seat and draws a breath. "Yes, this is Evangelion Unit-Z2. Please don't be scared of it!"
The ever-verbose Green, at least, seems less that scared. Or at least a type of not-scared that involves shooting an Evangelion in the dome with a large artillery cannon. It's easier here with Unit-Z2 in a crouched stance; the Arm Slave doesn't have to aim as high. Zoia looks back towards the fight just in time to spot Green's movements.
"Oh boy," she sighs, before the gun goes off.
The shell slams into -- something. There is a brilliant flash of orange as hexagon patterns burst out from a point a few metres in front of Unit-Z2's head - right where the shell would hit. What bursts through is mostly shrapnel and fire, showering the huge Evangelion's shoulders and heavily-armoured brow. Zoia squeezes her eyes closed and tenses as her head and shoulders burn with pain and heat, Unit-Z2 lurching sickeningly backward.
Until a set of spars on its calves unfold and slam down into the turf, digging in. Actuator motors strain, but Unit-Z2 manages to push back forward with the aid of its artillery firing struts. It once again plants its palms in the earth, entrenching itself in that animal-like crouch that seeks to put the brawn of the Eva square in the firing line of the Arm Slaves.
A trickle of (please let it be) coolant oozes down Unit-Z2's brow and into its left eye. Zoia rubs hers a moment. The Eva does the same before bringing its hand down again, shoulders bunching massively. The machine rumbles, the rocket tubes hanging from its shoulder spars churning as the snub nose of a projectile pokes from each in readiness, peeking out like wary groundhogs.
"Mr. Subject, please watch out along these firing lines," Zoia requests. "I'm going to try and hit them all!"
Zoia makes good on the attempt. The rocket tubes begin to fire. The air fills with flame and smoke as a few dozen of them spew out, followed by another wave. The saturation fire's aimed mainly at Green and Yellow, but a little more spews towards Red and Blue as Zoia attempts to just clear the field.
KTS: Zoia Surovy targets Ouka Nagisa with Katyusha Rocket Armageddon! KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Zoia Surovy's Katyusha Rocket Armageddon, taking 8700 damage! KTS: Zoia Surovy roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Zoia Surovy completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Leito Igaguri has posed.
The sluggers are re-attached after the blow, as Ultraman Zero moves to try and take some heat from the shots being levied at their new pilot friend and Lucine. Even so, a targeted shot impacts with his head - and while it hurts, it mostly just sparks off again, causing him to be annoyed and change tacks.
Ultraman Zero focuses on Yellow. His hand coats in fiery energy, as he moves to try and chop straight into...the ground! Attempting to disable it without smashing the cockpit up, trying to spare the pilot while also burning his machine and doing big knockback damage!
KTS: Leito Igaguri has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Leito Igaguri targets Ouka Nagisa with Big Bang Zero! KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa successfully avoids Leito Igaguri's Big Bang Zero KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Ouka Nagisa <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The mystery pilot--Subject Seven-Dash-Zero-Two-Zero?--still has no idea how to process the 'Ultraman'. He keeps one eye on Zero's signature, watching the way he moves--again, it's more like his machine, and like the blue goliath over there. More than that, he even looks like someone out of those old comics his m--
The pilot shakes his head. The tubes and cabling connecting him to his machine sway behind him.
'Do you have another name you'd prefer to be called?'
He must be in the big one too, the pilot realizes. Both of them sound like--
Emotion grips the Gundam pilot's heart, and his voice trembles. "Liam," he says. He sounds like he's reminding himself, as well. "My name is Liam." Two warm voices, speaking to him as they tucked him in at night. A name on a Captain Britannia lunchbox. A tear escapes a translucent polymer eyeshield, and trickles down his cheek.
The magnetic bottle winks out of existence; the knife evaporates in a flash of white-hot hydrogen. As Red dashes around to flank the Gundam, it follows, shifting back into that fighting stance. A low, magnetic whine fills the air, followed by a few metallic pops--several of the retracted vent covers pull free of the machine's body, linking together to form a charred but well-armored starburst-shape. It floats through the air like a bit, bobbing back and forth to intercept the incoming fire. Bullets riddle the shield; a handful either punch through or fly past it, slamming into the Gundam's shoulders, hips, torso. Zero blurs in to intercept more, and Liam's mouth falls open. The stricken Gundam steps back, molten slag sprays from the slug-holes in its armor. Said armor is looking less stable by the moment, and not just because of the fire it's taken. Plasma boils out of every vent on the machine. The sand beneath it starts to melt. The rain around it vaporizes well before it actually touches the machine.
If he'd chosen to, Liam could've set an entire tenement block ablaze without even trying. Thousands of people could've died, and that's a conservative estimate given Britannia's penchant for murder-by-neglect. He didn't.
That's what they wanted him to do, after all.
Liam hears Z2's pilot's warning. The Gundam takes to the air, leaving a molten streak on the sand as it lifts off. It circles through a ninety-degree arc, landing at the Evangelion's flank. Liam's heart hammers against his ribs as he watches the others opening fire. He's never seen anything like it--not even the simulations where they had him fight artillery. "Seizing opening," he says, and while there's still that hollow tone in his voice, there's something desperately trying to escape.
The Gundam's chest armor peels back. Some of the panels stick to each other as they fold out of the way, revealing the single largest vent on the machine--a blazing light that looks perilously close to where the cockpit would go on a standard Gundam. "SUNBURST within optimal tolerances." The Gundam turns on a heel, faces Red. It reaches out to grapple her machine, dragging it as close as it can manage if it connects. It braces its feet. "Allied units, clear backblast zone! Ten meters!"
A dull roar builds within the Gundam's chest. Plasma churns like the corona of a star. The manifold vents on its back flare wide, spreading open like wings.
BOOM
The SUNBURST fires. A torrent of plasma surges out to simply vaporize as much of the ARM Slave as possible. Light washes across the battlefield, casting Liam and his foe in shadow.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Ouka Nagisa with SUNBURST - Coronal Mass Ejection! KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa retreats from the attack! KTS: Liam 7-020 rattles Ouka Nagisa, making her next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Liam 7-020's SUNBURST - Coronal Mass Ejection, taking 8220 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam was not kidding about the backblast. As plasma pours out of the main vent, more surges out of the vents on the rear of the torso. A sudden surge of ionized, superheated death rushes out from the Gundam's exhausts, incinerating a patch of beach grass. The ground turns to glass and ash a heartbeat later.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
<"... It's a beautiful color, Miss Surovy."> It may be odd compliment to say, but the intent is to offer Zoia some comfort. "<I realize our meetings have been brief, but... I trust you and Mr. Nagisa.>"
It also helps that Lucine has been too focused on her own battle to notice the more brutally animalistic language of the Eva's movements.
<"It is a pleasure to meet you, Liam. I'm Lucine Azul, as you may have heard."> Lucine's voice, when talking when the other pilots, is soft, bordering on gentle when she's not possessed by the flow of battle. <"I hope we can all meet you properly, when this is over... that is, if you feel comfortable doing so."> What if there's no body there, but an AI?
Perhaps that's the secret. But an AI would rely on chips and data to work. What could withstand those temperatures?
These are questions better asked later, when she is not trying to outmaneuver their attackers.
"C'mon, you can do this..." Like a swallow, the Dianthus gracefully weaves and tumbles through the first few rounds, but the next hits it square on, sending it tumbling through the sky like a discarded doll.
Lucine's mouth clenches with the effort of righting her unit, sweat stapling down the hair that's tumbled from her helmet's hold to her cheek. She urges the Dianthus up and around, gaining speed to try to loose her attacker completely high in the air.
A hand swipes down and presses the rewind track button twice, and Sheryl's song, inexplicitably placed between Satie and Bach by the alien logic of playlists, starts up again. ".... Now to do this properly... and show you a bounty hunter's ace: their deadly guile!"
She drops again, spear held down, but this time, she's fully prepared for Earth's gravity.
And the suitcase is being held between her feet.
<"Today is the first day of your new life, Liam! So be glad!">
Maybe saying this with the pressure of gravity hardening her voice will make it stick. Even if she's assuming.
This could be the third day, for all she knows.
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Lucine Azul targets Ouka Nagisa with CL0-V3 Glaive Dragoon! KTS: Ouka Nagisa has activated the Trust Spirit Command. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to retreat. KTS: Ouka Nagisa fails to react to Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Dragoon, taking 6400 damage! KTS: Dr. Spartura's Sub-Pilot has been disabled. KTS: Ouka Nagisa's Type 96 Kai has been disabled. KTS: Lucine Azul roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Kaworu smiles at Zoia as she says she'll be fine. "So I see."
On this matter, at least. Who knows what's hidden in the depths of her heart? Not all Evangelion pilots show up every single time around.
As the Arm Slaves continue their counteroffensive, the green one firing a blast directly in Z2's face, Kaworu remains calm, focusing on stray feelings over the fight.
"Liam," he repeats back to the Gundam pilot. "My name is Kaworu Nagisa. Like Zoia Surovy, with whom you spoke a little earlier, I'm with NERV. Are you escaping from an experimental lab of some sort? If you are, I can offer you some sanctuary with us for as long or as short a time as you like. I can't guarantee it will be better, but it will at least be different."
Meanwhile, Lucine's vote of confidence gets a small but warm chuckle. "Thank you," he says simply.
It seems at least as though the fight is unlikely to continue much longer--though at the same time, those units seem much tougher than they appear to have lasted this long. Considering how much firepower the allied forces have brought to bear, they really need to leave if they hope to survive this encounter.
So:
"I imagine you have your own reasons for doing what you're doing," he transmits to the Arm Slaves. "However, I really must strongly urge you to retreat if you value your lives."
He says this around the time that Z2 is firing all its missiles, the Gundam is melting the sand, and Ultraman Zero is aiming a hand to remove Yellow's cockpit as Lucine descends to Earth with the proper calculations this time.
<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.
Sometimes in your life, you hear things which leave you shaken to the core.
'Destroy the Proto Helios.'
Oh no not that, that one was fine actually. At this point Red was kinda over the whole 'retrieval' aspect of the adventure.
'If any of them really hurt you... I'll take care of you.'
vYeah that's the one. And it leads to one of the few moments where none of Red's crew makes a snarky joke. Well other than Yellow, but it's less a joke and more of a, "I just soiled my Kai..." Which, at this point, none of the other quartet members take the time to mock him.
Instead at this point the field is saturated with a frankly ABSURD amount of missiles, mainly aiming to inundate the entire area around Yellow and Green. Red and Blue are also in the blast zone but at this moment they are worried for their companion's safety and move TOWARD the epicenter of the blast point!
"*GRUNT*" is heard broadcasting from Green's unit as he manages to heft the badly damaged (and pee-soaked) remnants of Yellow's Kai and throws it towards Red and Blue. The machine is caught and Green narrowly manages to escape being hit (on accident) by the Ultraman Zero's descending strike!
"What are we going to do now?!" Blue's voice is equal parts demanding and panicked. Unfortunately Red doesn't have time to formulate a plan as the Proto Helios, flying in the air, peels back its chest armor to reveal the machine's massive main vent! Weaponizing its own reactor's plasma into a giant, pulsing star-like orb!! The four units are briefly seen as diminuitive black silhouettes on a painfully white background as they are consumed by the raging tempest!!
When the light fades away the Type 96 Kai Quartet is not looking very much fighting fit anymore. Standing amidst a field of still-glowing glass, the ocean waves churning into maelstrom-like eddies each time they wash against the shore, their armor is in much the same glowing and dripping off the internal structure and components of the machine. All four pilots are nearly incapcitated by heat stroke - the intense heat driving all moisture from their breath and scorching their lungs.
Still Red isn't done yet... "Yellow! It's time for your specialty!"
Yellow, barely conscious but now quite dry thanks to the heat thank you, groans slighty. He pulls two bandoliers of what appear to be grenades from a panel on his back. He flings both bandoliers in the air as a string connected to the pins pulls them free!!
Just as they fly through the air, Lucine is descending for her final strike!! Meanwhile a sudden mysterious transmission from a young man broadcasts through their unit's speakers. "*grunt*" "THAT'S WHAT I SAID" "Ugh I hate smug gloating pricks..." "FUUUUUCK YOOOOOOU"
Then just like that, the grenades explode in a rain of smoke and metallic confetti!! The confetti seems to be intended to confused sensors whereas the smoke is to further obscure sight lines. When both clear though, all that is left of the quartet is smashed up bits of broken Arm Slaves scattered across the shore. Some of it was from the combined damage of the final assault - some of it, it looks like, was just the machines failing under being superheated and their own weight. Regardless... what happened to the Quartet is unknown.
Somewhere out at sea.
Four high speed ejection capsules crash into the ocean water, releasing their paylod several miles off shore. Luckily each comes equipped with a survival pack including rations and inflatable raft, but they're unlikely to to want to use that beacon they have for rescue. Red sighs, "So, about how long will it take for us to paddle across the East Sea again?" Yellow: "Wait, I thought this was the Sea of Japan?
Yellow ended up swimming part of the way there.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
'Today is the first day of your new life, Liam! So be glad!'
Lucine's words ring in Liam's ears even as the howl of the reactor fills the cockpit. Sweat pours off his brow, wicking down and away from his skin. Every breath he takes is uncomfortably warm, but he bears it, even as his machine pours hell into his attackers'. When the light dies, Liam sags to a knee--the first sign of exertion he's shown this entire fight--and the Gundam mirrors his movements. The rim of the main vent is thoroughly carbonized.
"Enemy beacons silenced. Shutting down SUNBURST."
The second star in the Gundam's heart stops burning. The magnetic fields encasing it power down. With the horrible light gone, all that's left is the mystery Gundam, kneeling in glass, slowly cooling down from its superheated exertions. "Your offer is acknowledged and accepted, Kaworu Nagisa," says Liam. "I..." He trails off a moment, the word feeling odd in his mouth. "There may be more. There's no guarantee OpSec hasn't been compromised. I--" and there's that hitch again-- "--can explain in a more secure locale. After sufficient rehydration."
<Pose Tracker> Zoia Surovy has posed.
Zoia smiles faintly at Lucine's profession of trust, blushing and dipping her head. "Thank you, Miss Azul. You're doing great."
Soon enough, the fight's over, and the smoke begins to clear in the aftermath of the rocket bombardment. Unit-Z2 remains crouched against the turf, rocket tubes emptied but churning to an automatic reload. It reaches up, wiping a bit of questionable coolant from its cheek.
Zoia pushes a lock of hair back into its neatly-gelled place, sinking back in her seat. She tilts her head back to smile at Kaworu with obvious relief. "That could have gone worse, da? And it turns out we might have made a new friend. Sort of."
Something new to learn about. New trust won, perhaps.
"We don't have to stay here," she assures, voice a little tired, but quiet and not unkind. "Come back with us and we'll talk about what's going on. Maybe we can help."
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
For a short time, Kaworu regards the distance in which the Arm Slaves had been launched with his usual crooked smile. Then he nods to Zoia. "Yes. Good work out there. I'm sure Dr. Akagi will appreciate the data from this outing. Not to mention..."
He turns his gaze towards Liam and his Gundam as he accepts his offer. "I understand. Let's move to a secure location, then. And perhaps give you some time to rest and recuperate as well as rehydrate."
Tokyo-3's not exactly the height of tourism, but its motels are functional, at the very least. And in a non-confidential location, Lucine and Ultraman Zero--or his host, perhaps, after Ultraman Zero heroically shoots off into the sky to parts unknown once the battle is done--will be able to join in on the conversation, too.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
<"If it's alright...">
The Dianthus finally unlodges the glaive from the ground where it landed, after the blue unit fled. <"Could I join? If, a little later. I was supposed to meet my friend not far from here. It's why I got sucked in."> The cockpit cracks open slightly, letting in some cool air on Lucine's face as she takes off her helmet. <"... He's likely hiding nearby. I'll explain the situation to him-- you can trust him, all of you. You'll see why, when you meet him.">
In a story, it would be a human-sized Zero, Lucine thinks.
But instead, it will be a salaryman with a heart of gold and a family. Who, as Kaworu may secretly know (and him alone), is Zero.
<"... He joined recently, but... he's a kind person. Not the sort of person you'd see in battles like these, even if he knows some martial arts.">
She pauses.
<"But first... I'm going to need to apply a compress to my head. The suitcase.... it hit my head really hard...">
Suitcase?
<Pose Tracker> Dr. Spartura has posed.
What is there to say about the mercenaries? They're handling themselves, as mercenaries do.
"Be seeing you, Seven-Twenty," says Dr. Spartura, and then she sighs, and starts shifting screens to write a quick communique on what happened. Of course, most of it's on record.
But not every last little single thing.